Trail Blazers forward Travis Outlaw has a stress fracture in the fifth metatarsal in his left foot, suffered in the first quarter of the Blazers game at Charlotte.

Outlaw, who played only 50 seconds, suffered the injury 20 seconds after he checked into the game. Television replays show that Outlaw apparently suffered the injury when he tried to close the distance between himself and Charlotte forward Gerald Wallace. When Wallace started to drive, Outlaw put on the brakes, and the force of the stop caused the injury. Wallace drove past Outlaw for a layin.

On the ensuing possession, Outlaw threw a pass into the stands that was intended for Roy. He then started limping noticeably and was taken out of the game.

X-Rays revealed a stress fracture of the fifth metatarsal - the small bone on top of the foot near the small toe. It is the same injury, to the same foot, that teammate Martell Webster endured last season.

Webster suffered his initial fracture in October and didn't return until December. In Webster's first game back he broke the same bone in the same place and missed the rest of the season.

Figuring Outlaw has the same timeline of Webster's initial injury - six-to-eight weeks - he figures to return around mid-January, a span of around 29 games.

Outlaw is one of the Blazers' top reserves, and was averaging 10.9 points and 3.8 rebounds in 23.1 minutes. Veteran Juwan Howard figures to assume most of Outlaw's playing time.